Sermons

Senior Pastor Mark Teike interviews Dr. Chad on the day that he is installed at SPL so that people can hear a little of his story as a Jewish Lutheran pastor who also just happens to be a rabbi! The question, "How can you be a Jewish Lutheran pastor rabbi?" is answered!

On the first Sunday after the Epiphany, Dr. Chad preached on the "Servant" text from Isaiah 42:1-9. Isaiah described how God's servant would be different from the many pretenders in the world who compete to be the source of our hope. The real deal distinguishes himself as the Lord's servant in some important ways.

In a two part series, Dr. Chad explores the generous love and mercy of the Messiah as exemplified in Luke 6:27-42. Messiah had a crazy, inside-out, upside-down, generous way of dealing with people and reality. In his Sermon on the Plain, the Messiah describes how getting "me" out of the way paves the path for the things of God to generously flow through us to others.

The pastoral staff participated in a four-part series entitled, "Matters of the Heart." Dr. Chad's contribution to the series spoke of "Heart Attack." Specifically, what are the warning signs of a spiritual heart attack, what are the four antidotes to these warning signs, and advice on what to do when we fall from grace or when we witness a fall from grace. The texts for the sermon are Proverbs 4:20-23 and Luke 8:26-33.

In the liturgical season following the Sunday of the Resurrection, it is common to focus upon the post-resurrection appearances of Messiah. Dr. Chad contributed two sermons to this series. The first sermon in the series uses the road to Emmaus experience to reveal how you can still experience the risen Messiah in your life today. When we are moved by the Scriptures to receive all as if they were Christ, then we can encounter Jesus in a very real way. The second sermon in the series involves the "tikkun" of Simon Peter. and how we can all bounce back from failure or mistakes made in our lives. The reality for us is that God is the same in his love for us after a failure as he is before we fail.

Have you ever been in that place where you feel that your faith is just religion? Where there is no real power behind the precepts? In this sermon for the Day of Pentecost, Dr. Chad discusses the formula of "Power + Precepts = Transformation." Also discussed is the idea that contained wind is no longer wind, but just air. And air has no power. Too often, we try to contain the Holy Spirit and when we do this, the Holy Spirit becomes "Holy Air" and loses its power. The texts for this sermon are Acts 1:8; 2:1-13 and Ezekiel 37:1-6.

The congregation of SPL spent a "Summer in the Psalms," and Dr. Chad preached a sermon on Psalm 46. This particular Psalm is a powerful weapon to allow God to speak into situations where our words fail. Right smack dab in the middle of the chaos, the uncertainty, and the stress is God.

Dr. Chad speaks of the half-hazard farming skills of a certain farmer in Luke 8:5-15. In the end, there is a method to the farmer's madness and the result is that our hearts of stone, rocks, and weeds are transformed into good soil that can then make a difference in this world.

Dr. Chad introduced the concept of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy from Exodus 34 and Micah 7:18-20. This sermon digs into the first four attributes of mercy and makes suggestions in ways that we might imitate them and stir up God's mercy in our own lives and in the lives of others.

SPL did a five week sermon series based on the book, "Why Give?" by John Devries. In this fifth and final installment of the series, Dr. Chad explains on the reasons we give is because of the joy that flows from within us. Sermon text is 2 Corinthians 8:1-11.

Many struggle during the holiday season, especially with loneliness (even if they have a house full of guests). Dr. Chad takes the perspective that the Father spent the first Christmas alone and so He can relate to our struggles. Dr. Chad also highlights the relationship between the crib and the cross. The audio is a little weak on this recording, so turn it up!!!!

One of the roles that Dr. Chad fills at SPL is the Director of Life-Community. In this sermon on Acts 2:42, Dr. Chad unpacks the "four devotions" that were the bedrock of the very first Jesus community. In doing so, the ingredients for Biblical community are also laid out.